BEEVILLE – Drought restrictions for city residents eased up as of Nov. 26.

The City Council voted unanimously at its final meeting of the month to go back to Stage 1 restrictions on water use.

Interim City Manager Marvin Townsend recommended passage of a motion to ease the restrictions after reminding the council that the combined reservoir capacity was above the 50 percent mark.

Stage 1 restrictions require:

•Water customers to voluntarily limit the irrigation of landscaped areas to once per week. The watering schedule will remain on the customer’s trash pickup day.

•All City of Beeville operations to adhere to water use restrictions prescribed for Stage 2 of the plan.

•Water customers to practice water conservation and to minimize or discontinue water use for non-essential purposes.

Councilmen then voted to proceed with installing a submersible pump, four-inch conduit and a meter loop connection at the new irrigation well that recently was drilled at Veterans Memorial Park.

The well will provide irrigation water for the recreational facilities in the park.

The council was told that the well will produce 350 gallons per minute of good quality water.

Completion of the well is expected to cost the city $20,596.

The council also approved hiring Urban Engineering to prepare bid specifications for work to be done on painting elevated water tanks and installing an emergency electrical generator at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Urban will charge 12 percent of the final contract amount on each project.

Council members also approved spending $50,000 for an updated sanitary sewer map and $7,500 for the preparation of a city zoning map.

In other business, the council voted to:

— Approve rezoning property in the 1500 block of East Kennedy Street from its current R-1, first one-family dwelling district, to a B-2 secondary and highway business district.

The property faces the U.S. Highway 181 Bypass. The applicant wants to install a commercial sign at that location.

— Renew a lease agreement with Beeville Air Services for five years for fixed base operator services at the Beeville Municipal Airport.